Remembering Norman Lear

Episode notes

(Photo: Jesse Grant/Getty Images)

Norman Lear died last month. He was a writer and showrunner for some of the biggest, most influential sitcoms of all time.

Lear redefined what the sitcom genre could be. With Sanford and Son, Lear created a show that would give rise to literally dozens of African American sitcoms.

And on All in the Family, characters took on huge topics like war, feminism, race, abortion, but in a way that was totally empathetic to both sides of any issue. Archie Bunker, for all his flaws and despicable things he said, became one of the most nuanced and beloved sitcom characters of all time.

Lear also created The Jeffersons, Maude, Archie Bunker’s Place, and more. In 1981 he founded progressive group People for the American Way. When Lear was on Bullseye back in 2016, he was the subject of a PBS American Masters’ film — Norman Lear: Another Version of You. 

He was in his 90s when we talked, but he was still working. He rebooted One Day at a Time – the new version was great, by the way. He made a documentary with Lin Manuel Miranda about Rita Moreno. And he was still developing shows right up until his passing, at 101.

Norman Lear joined Bullseye to talk about his childhood, his many sitcoms, and writing for an all Black cast.

A version of this interview originally aired in October of 2016.